VRD-MC5 Question

InterceptPoint wrote on 5/7/2008, 7:17 AM

The VRD-MC5 is the Sony "Multifunction DVD Recorder" that will transfer HD files from an AVCHD HD camcorder direct to a standard DVD disk and will preserve the full HD quality of the video. These disks can be directly played on a PS3 and most Blu-Ray players. It allows you to distribute your HD using inexpensive DVD disks rather than the still expensive Blu-Rays.

I use the VRD-MC5 to backup the HD from my Sony CX7 camcorder to standard DVD disks. If the files are too large for a single disk it will backup to multiple DVDs.

I am currently editing a short wedding video where I need to edit one or two of the .mts files and delete a couple. I don't plan to add any music or titles. Just plain jane video that is only slightly modified from the original raw footage.

It seems like the easiest way to do this would be to delete the .mts files that I don't want, edit the one or two .mts files in Vegas and then copy the edited files back to the memory chip and transfer to DVD via the VRD-MC5 to disk. This preserves bookmarks for each .mts file (a plus) and gives me the distribution disk that is PS3 or Blu-Ray playable. And it eliminates almost all rendering of the 20 minute video.

Before I launch on this approach I'm wondering if there is any possibility that it will work. I'm hoping someone has tried it. If so, any advice would be appreciated.

Comments

Tinle wrote on 5/7/2008, 4:15 PM

I hope you get an answer, I'd like to know.

InterceptPoint wrote on 5/8/2008, 12:38 PM

I have done some simple tests with .mts file deletion and substitution with mostly negative results. Transferring modified files back to my CX-7 results in either an empty video directory or, in some cases the CX-7 detects a corrupt database file and provides a repair. I was hopeful that this would do the trick but the one time it worked the modified file didn't show up in the index and the deleted files show up with a big question mark.

I've concluded that what I need is some way to do the following:

1. Render an .MTS file in exactly the same AVCHD format that the CX-7 uses.

2. Find some method for re-building the AVCHD database files so they are consistent and can be loaded back and then read by the CX-7.

If I could do those two things I think I would have a simple semi-"smart-render" system with the VRD-MC5.

InterceptPoint wrote on 5/10/2008, 10:03 AM

I'm continuing to work on this problem without much progress. My basic problem is that I cannot find a way to successfully copy files directly back to my CX7 camcorder memory stick that are playable. I can copy via USB to a chip-reader but the CX7 doesn't handle the editied MTS file, even after a database repair.

I've tried Sony's Picture Motion Browser which, IMHO, is totally useless. I cannot even copy playable files from the CX7 to my hard disk and then copy the same files back. PMB sees them as an incompatible format. I get the same thing if I import and try to export completely within PMB. This software really needs some help from Sony.

So right now I'm stuck and having a look at a smart render in Nero as an alternate.

I do believe, however, that a software solution to this problem is possible, it's just that nobody has done it that I can find. What we need is a way to export from Vegas directly to a Memory Stick camcorder as a "print to tape" type function that preserves and updates as necessary the existing AVCHD file structure and format.